The present invention pertains generally to equipment used in the training of a baseball or softball pitcher to throw into different areas in and out of the strike zone.
In the training of pitchers it is necessary to develop control to the extent a pitcher may throw into several areas of a strike zone. In a game, the catcher will position his glove to provide a target for the pitch desired. In the training of some pitchers it is a problem to get the pitcher to visualize the strike zone above home plate. Undesirably some pitchers will visualize the strike zone in horizontal relationship to a batter which permits the batter to influence the undesired throwing of balls (as opposed to strikes) by the pitcher by either "crowding" home plate or standing away from same to cause the throwing of outside or inside pitches missing the strike zone. Accordingly it is important for a young pitcher to learn to pitch to a fixed strike zone without being influenced by the batter's position relative home plate.
In the prior art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,059,365; 2,254,986; 2,873,969; 4,118,028; 4,254,952 and 4,275,883 all show training equipment wherein a pitching target provides several target areas within a defined strike zone. Ball collecting and return means using gravity are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2.059,365 and 4,275,883.